Undistorted
by Raberba girl
Summary: Demyx & Zexion are complete opposites, yet somehow they might still be able to get along. Platonic Zemyx; sometimes AU.
1. The Promised Beginning

Sweet Distortion

Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl

Summary: For Bond Of Flame08's 100 Song Theme Challenge, focused on Demyx & Zexion/Ienzo, though not in a romantic context and not always together. Includes some AUs.

Introduction: Seeing as how my first attempt at a challenge (_Fire & Moonlight_ for Axel & Saïx) is going quite well, it's awakened my interest in drabbles, both checking out other people's and trying my own. I love writing a lot of contextless scenes according to a list of themes, so I wanted to try it again with two of my favorite characters, Demyx and Zexion. Since in my mind, Dem & Zex aren't closely linked together the way Axel and Saïx are, I'm not planning to have them do stuff together in every single drabble, but I wanted the entire series to focus on one or the other or both of them, no one else. (I'm letting their Somebodies in on it, too, unlike with Axel & Sai.) I failed so epically at getting them together in _Christmas at the Castle_ that I want to try again with hopefully better results, and dang it, there needs to be at least one fic out there with these two that isn't yaoi. ^^;

There was never any doubt about which challenge to let them have. Bond Of Flame08's "100 Song Theme Challenge" caught my eye at once because I LOVE the Kingdom Hearts soundtracks, and she even included my favorite Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core track, "The Price of Freedom"! :O So no way I could pass this up, particularly since she so graciously lifted the one requirement that was causing me anxiety. I feel really bad about asking to break the word limit, therefore I'm going to try to make 300-words-or-less versions of each drabble, if only just to prove to myself that I'm not the jerk I feel like. I'll post them in batches after every ten or so drabbles. And, just as a warning, they probably won't make any sense out of context, but again, it's a personal challenge that I've set myself since Bon-Bon was so wonderful and sweet in allowing it to not be an official one.

As far as the series title is concerned, both illusions and water cause distortion. I don't have as good a reason for the "sweet" part...I just needed a positive adjective, it seemed to fit the overall tone, and Demyx is my sweetie-pie. *sweatdrop*

**1. The Promised Beginning**

Summary: It doesn't always have to have a point.

A/N: This one's AU.

o.o.o

Demyx loved to see children's smiles, which was why he had the best job in the world. "All-righty! Seems like I promised you a beginning, huh?"

There was a high-pitched surge of cheering, the kind only a crowd of very young people could make.

"Ha ha, sounds like you're looking forward to it! Well, does anyone know how it starts?"

"ONCE UPON A TIME!" they all shouted at him in eager unison.

"Exactly! You guys are just amazing! So, once upon a time, in a faraway desert land, there lived this kid with a pet monkey who was running through the marketplace clutching a loaf of bread..."

When Demyx finished the story, he took a break to sell sweets to the kids. They nearly mobbed him in their eagerness to obtain the goodies that were difficult to find anywhere other than at festivals like these. "Okay, okay, okay, hold up, I don't wanna be sold out before lunchtime!" he laughed. "Four more - lessee, you in the checkered shirt, you with the - wow, honey, does your mama know you're waltzing around in a skirt that short? - you in the black coat, aaaaand, this little cutie in white!"

Then he firmly locked the compartments containing his candy stock and earnings, climbed back onto the small temporary stage, and clapped his hands for attention. "Next up! The amazing Melodious Nocturne shall now perform, for your pleasure, wondrous feats of MAGIC!"

"Whoooo!" was the enthusiastic response.

Outrageous lengths of scarves out of his sleeve; snowy birds flying out of a hat; a reflection that made faces at him whenever he turned his back. The kids ate it up. As Demyx joyfully ran through the act, he glanced through his audience and occasionally out to the bustling streets beyond, where festival-goers were enjoying the numerous booths and amusements that were crammed together with winding paths in between.

The sky was overcast, but the rain was still a long way off. This was better for business, but just the approaching scent of the storm filled his nose, seeming to sing through his blood and make him feel more alive. He wished he could have them both, the pouring rain and the crowd of delighted young expressions...

One expression. One face not lit up with joy; one eye, the one not obscured by a fall of dark hair, regarding him soberly, without a trace of sparkle.

_'I'm going to make you smile,'_ Demyx thought instantly. Then he chuckled at himself. _'I don't know who you are,'_ he thought at the quiet little boy standing a little way behind the crowd of other children, _'but somehow, I'm going to find out what will make you smile. No one should be unhappy today, of all days.'_ "And now for the finale!" he announced aloud. "Heeeeere it comes!"

Explosions like fireworks, a rain of colored ribbons and lush feathers, flowers landing in the hands of the girls. And candy, of course, enough so they wouldn't hurt each other (hopefully) when they pounced on the stuff like starving wolves. Demyx laughed as he watched, like when a little girl knocked her older brother over the head to reach a piece of candy first, or when a boy fought like a savage for an armful of sweets, only to turn red-faced and bashful when he trotted over and offered the whole heap to a pretty girl he'd been eyeing during the entire performance.

As every last bit was claimed and the children started drifting off, Demyx picked up his sitar and began to play quietly. _"Come,"_ he whispered, speaking not with words or lyrics, but through the music itself. _"Don't be afraid, I just want to talk to you..."_

When he opened his eyes, the boy was standing right there at the edge of the stage, gazing at him with that same humorless look. Now that the two of them were alone, surrounded yet untouched by all the noise and motion of the festival around them, they could talk.

The boy blinked when Demyx stopped playing, and looked around a little nervously.

"Hi, I'm Demyx," he said brightly, before the kid could make up his mind to bolt. "What can I call you?"

"...Ienzo."

"So you hated it, huh?" Demyx tested.

The boy blinked, as if buying time to measure his words. "Not really. I just didn't see the point."

"Candy doesn't have to have a point! That's why it's candy!" Demyx insisted.

"It has no nutritional value, wastes resources, and serves as a corporate manipulation tool."

Demyx blinked. "_How_ old are you?"

The answer was ever-so-slightly sullen, which was a good sign. The boy's total lack of emotion had been starting to creep Demyx out. "I'm ten."

"Cool! So am I! At least, I was about ten years ago."

Ienzo gave him a dubious look. "I wasn't talking about the candy, by the way," he finally said.

"What? You mean my stories were pointless, too?" Demyx exclaimed in grossly exaggerated horror.

"Those so-called 'magic' tricks. There was never a coin behind that girl's ear, you had it in your palm and just made it look like you'd obtained it from a different source. Those images in the mirror were pre-recorded. That dove-"

"Now, now, just because I'm super-good at sleight-of-hand doesn't mean I'm not a real magician!" Demyx declared, waggling his finger playfully.

Ienzo folded his arms.

"Prove it, you say? Well, I will." Demyx smiled, strummed his sitar, called on the magic he had not had to use all day until now, and summoned a water clone.

Ienzo gasped and stumbled backward as the clone reached to glomp him. "Wh-Where did that come from?"

"Told ya," Demyx said, pretending to be smug. "Magic."

Ienzo struggled out of the clone's arms and hurriedly stepped behind Demyx for protection. "Stop it. Make it go away."

"Aw, but he likes you."

"Make it go _away_."

Well, he didn't want to scare the kid, after all. Demyx let the clone dissolve into a puddle of harmless water, most of which drained quickly off the stage. "Heh. Explain _that_ one away with science, I dare ya!"

He couldn't see the boy now that Ienzo was standing behind him, but there was a long silence. Demyx finally turned around so that they were face to face, surprisingly close together. "Would you rather have some candy?" he asked gently.

"..."

Demyx invitingly held out a few colorful treats in his palm. "Go on. Take them! They're yours, pointlessness and all."

There was a long moment of hesitation. Then Ienzo reached for a green one, unwrapped it slowly, held it poised at his mouth, then set it on his tongue. Another pause. Then that one visible eye slowly widened.

Demyx grinned. "Yummy, right?"

The boy closed his eyes. Good. Best for savoring.

"Ienzo!"

Both of them jumped at the sudden harsh call. Ienzo looked like he suddenly didn't know what to do with the candy in his mouth.

"Don't swallow it," Demyx warned quickly. "It hasn't melted small enough yet."

Ienzo maneuvered the sweet into one cheek so that he could whisper, "I'll get in trouble."

"What? What kid gets in trouble for enjoying a festival?"

"Not supposed to be here...the Professor...I-"

"_Ienzo_!" Whoever was yelling sounded impatient, cranky, and like they were ready to kick someone's butt.

"Spit it out," Demyx ordered, tucking more sweets into the boy's coat pockets. "Just on the platform here, it's fine. Don't worry if they take these away, I'll leave some more in the General's statue before I leave, that little space between his armor and his shoulder, 'kay?"

"Okay," Ienzo whispered. "Th...Thank you."

Demyx smiled. And was rewarded when the kid gave him a small, shy smile back. _'Bingo.'_

Ienzo turned, climbed off the platform, and hurried to catch up to a fussy-looking guy in a lab coat who immediately started in on all the "Ienzo, where have you _been_?" lectures. They didn't last long, though. And when the guy turned to march away and Ienzo trotted hurriedly after him, he paused a moment to glance back and wave to Demyx.

Demyx grinned as he lifted his hand in response. "See ya next year, kiddo." Satisfied, he picked up his sitar and began preparing for the next show.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Mrgh, this one seems a little creepy to me. Demyx means well, though.

**"Candy doesn't have to have a point! That's why it's candy!" Quote from the **_**Charlie and the Chocolate Factory**_** movie (I don't remember if it's in the book, too).**

Useless trivia - Kidz who got the last bits of candy between the storytelling and the magic show! Roxas, Kairi, random male Org member of your choice (though obviously not Zex or Dem), and Naminé. :p

Complete: 1/100. Next: "Dearly Beloved"


	2. Dearly Beloved

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**2. Dearly Beloved**

Summary: Zexion and Xigbar are on a mission involving pirates.

A/N: This AU was inspired by Jasper Fforde's novel_ First Among Sequels_ (fifth book in the Thursday Next series, though I haven't read any of the others). Also, if you haven't seen the movie _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End_, this is going to make zero sense. Also contains **spoilers** for that movie.

o.o.o

_"WHADDAYA MEAN XIGGY SHOT BARBOSSA?"_

Zexion bowed over in response to the assault on his sensitive hearing. "Demyx! Don't scream in my ear," he hissed. This body may only be a virtual one, but any pain it experienced had an equal effect on his real one that was asleep up in the Topside control room.

Demyx's voice echoed in his mind at a lower but still obnoxious volume. _"Am I supposed to _not_ freak out when you tell me that Xigbar SHOT freaking CAPTAIN BARBOSSA in the middle of the _climactic battle scene_?"_

"He's still alive," Zexion said in exasperation, wiping rain out of his eyes and glancing at the unconscious body lying beside him in a reflexive move to reassure himself. "He's right here, in fact - we've taken cover in a corner of the ship. It's just that he fell and hit his head when a sailor knocked Xigbar's aim awry."

_"Well, this is just excellent,"_ Demyx grumbled. _"Seriously, can't you guys go for ten minutes without messing something up and altering story hist-?"_

"_I'm_ the one who's always asking for solo missions! _I'm_ the one who always gets stuck with Xigbar or YOU for partners! Don't you dare pin this on me!"

_"Geez, calm down! Now, let's think this through..."_

Somewhere amongst all the brawling, rain-soaked pirates, Zexion caught a snippet of dialogue. "I don't think now's the best time!"

Zexion swore. "Demyx! It's starting!"

_"Ack! He proposed already?"_

"What do you mean _already_? I feel like I've been stuck in this madhouse for ages!"

The scene continued inexorably. "Now may be the only time!" Will yelled back at Elizabeth over the noise of the battle.

_"What do we do? What do we do? Hey, I know! Tickle Barbossa until he wakes up."_

"Don't be _stupid_," Zexion hissed savagely. He tugged his laptop closer, wiping excess rain off the water-resistant cover and minimizing the illusion program that was keeping him and the pirate captain hidden. "Demyx! Upload the film script to Dear Diary, hurry!"

_"What do you need the script for? It's playing out right now."_

"I've made my choice," Will proclaimed to Elizabeth, about six paces away from where Zexion was crouched. "What's yours?"

"DEMYX, _NOW_."

There was a tense pause. "Barbossa!" Elizabeth suddenly shouted.

Zexion flung himself up to the head of the stairs with his laptop clutched tightly in one arm. "Xigbar, cover me!" he screamed.

"I'm a little busy at the moment!" the one-eyed Freeshooter called back.

"Marry us!" Elizabeth cried. Then, in confusion at the captain's absence, "Barbossa?"

"Xigbar, if you let me get hurt, I will KILL YOU." Zexion frantically scanned over the lines of dialogue as an attack on the lovers below bought him a few more precious seconds.

"Zexion!" Will shouted as soon as the interruption had been dealt with. "Where's Barbossa?"

"He's busy! I'll marry you!"

"_Can_ you?" Elizabeth said in disbelief. "I thought you said you were just a playwright!"

_"Yeah, _can_ you?"_ Demyx echoed interestedly.

"Yes, I can, now all of you SHUT UP," Zexion bellowed, neglecting to specify that his claim consisted of nothing more than having been captain of the Rowing Club back in high school. He squinted through the downpour at Dear Diary's screen, trying to ignore the roaring of random sailors trying to assault him and the whistling sound of laserfire as Xigbar shot them down before they could reach him. "Dearly beloved, we be gathered here today...!"

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Erm, I apologize if this is overly confusing. Let me know what you don't get, and I'll try to clarify it.

Long story behind this one, but basically, this was the prompt that made me decide to A) take on this challenge B) for Zemyx. Because after AkuSai got me into drabbles, and before plot bunnies for a million other series subjects mobbed me, the second idea for a drabble series I got was for Demyx & Zexion. And I'd been hunting around and fell in love with Bon-Bon's music challenge at first sight, because the KH soundtracks are among my favorite music ever. However, I saw the "Dearly Beloved" prompt and was like, "How in the world could I make that work for platonic Zemyx?" Then my thoughts quickly jumped from "wedding phrase" to "Disney movies" to "hands down favorite movie wedding scene ever," which happens to be the one in _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End_. And the concept of traveling inside stories from Fforde's Thursday Next novels practically smacked me in the head with how to make it work for Dem & Zexy, and so I was like, "WELL, if I can write a 'Dearly Beloved' for these guys, the rest of the prompts should be a breeze." And that's how I decided to take on Bon-Bon's KH soundtrack challenge for my darling Melodious Nocturne and Zexion The Adorable Cloaked Schemer. :)

Complete: 2/100. Next: "Hand in Hand"


	3. Hand in Hand

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**3. Hand in Hand**

Summary: Because when everyone else is freaking out, I'd rather hang out with the calm-faced nerd, thanks.

A/N: AU. They're little kids. Purposely vague.

o.o.o

The alarms began going off in the middle of a lesson on fractions. The teacher jerked and gave a little scream, then, tight-faced, went to get something out of her desk. "Go ahead and line up, boys and girls. We're having another drill."

"It's not a drill," Zexion observed. "If it was, you wouldn't have been so surprised, and you wouldn't bother to bring your purse."

The teacher's expression darkened as her students started up a nervous flurry of murmuring. She clapped her hands sharply, yelling, "First graders, line _up_."

They all hurried to obey, their faces and voices full of anxiety.

Zexion blinked in surprise when Demyx cut in line next to him and grabbed his hand. "Hi, Zexy!" the other boy said brightly. "You seem kinda scared, so I'm gonna hold your hand, okay?"

"You don't have to."

"Aw, don't be silly!"

Out in the hallway, there was a traffic jam as too many classes tried to make their way out at the same time, too many teachers were panicking and prioritizing speed over order, too many students getting mixed together. Behind the deafening sirens was a faint rumble, which never happened during normal drills. Far in the distance, there seemed to be a roar like thunder.

Demyx held tight to Zexion's hand, since the rest of the class had disappeared amongst the chaos. "It's okay, it's okay, it's all gonna be fine, nothing bad is going to happen..."

"Don't panic," Zexion said calmly. "Breathe slow and deep."

"It's okay, it's all gonna be okay-"

Zexion pushed them both against a wall so they'd be out of the way, then picked up Demyx's other hand and laid it against his own chest. "In," he instructed, inhaling deeply to demonstrate. "Out." Exhale.

Wide-eyed, Demyx was soon copying him.

"Good. Keep breathing. Hold onto my hand."

Zexion turned his attention back to the crowd, watching, then ventured out again when he saw what he was looking for. He seized the shirttail of a male teacher who was rushing by.

"What are you doing? Get off!" the man cried, trying to shove him away.

"Where's your class?" Zexion asked coolly.

Guilt crept into the man's expression, and he started ignoring them, pushing on through the crowds in a desperate attempt to escape. "Hurry," Zexion told Demyx. Together, they fought to keep their footing, match the man's pace, and continue clinging to him. Rushing in his wake, they were able to move much faster than they would have been alone.

Zexion let go as soon as they passed the threshold of the stairwell, and the man continued on without a glance back. "Use the handrail so you don't slip," Zexion said, laying his own hand upon it.

"This is scary," Demyx whimpered.

"No, it isn't."

"Okay."

They followed the flow of the crowd into one of the underground classrooms, which was growing packed with wailing, terrified children and a couple of shouting teachers. Zexion crawled under a desk and Demyx squeezed in next to him, their hands still linked.

It was going to be a long wait. "Sing, Demyx," Zexion said.

_"R...Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,"_ Demyx managed. A tear slipped down his face. "Zexion, sing with me."

"I don't sing."

There was a silence. Several more tears followed. The far-off roaring had grown louder, so that it sounded more like explosions than thunder. "What are the words?" Zexion finally asked.

As their two young voices rose up, growing in volume the longer they went on, the sobs of the children around them grew a little quieter. _"...when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad..."_

o.o.o

Author's Notes: The original ending in my head was less ambiguous, but things can change when you get it down on paper. I'm sure they came out of it all right, though.

Quote from "My Favorite Things" in _The Sound of Music_.

Complete: 3/100. Next: "Laughter and Merriment"


	4. Laughter and Merriment

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**4. Laughter and Merriment**

Summary: Karaoke time!

**A/N: Takes place in the **_**Christmas at the Castle**_** universe; possible ****spoilers**** for that fic.**

o.o.o

No work today and lots of snacks and getting to play music and so many colorz, whoooo!

Demyx tipped another cupful of punch down his throat, gestured enthusiastically at the Dancer in charge of the playlist, then hit a chord on his sitar. _"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head!"_ he belted out. _"And just like the guy whose feet are-"_

He squealed when Zexion suddenly lurched into him out of nowhere, knocking them both against the wall as they lost their footing.

"Demmyyy," Zexion mumbled happily. "You're singing...a music...thing."

"Hey, do karak- Coke- Carrie-" Demyx tried, then gave up and resorted to, "Sing with me, Zexy!"

"I never singed before," Zexion confessed, which set them both off into peals of laughter. "How do I...move my feet again...?"

"Like this." They stumbled over to the sound equipment, where Zexion draped himself over the table and gazed lovingly at the mouse cord, while Demyx addressed the playlist Dancer. "Jenx, my honey!" he cried, even though he had no idea what the Nobody's human name had been. "Play somethin' for us...somethin' happy!"

The Dancer poked uncertainly at a few buttons until new music started blaring out of the speakers.

"Nice, nice! C'mon, Zexy!" Demyx pushed a microphone in Zexion's direction, accidentally almost bopping him in the face with it. It didn't occur to either of them to be surprised when Lexaeus's large hand reached between them to grasp a third microphone.

"Me, too," the Silent Hero said.

"Super! The more, the merrier," Demyx said happily, and all three of them took more generous swigs of punch before tumbling back onto the little stage.

_"We've been waiting so long, just can't hold it back no more...!"_

For Demyx, singing a Backstreet Boys song with Zexion and Lexaeus was the most beautiful thing ever - unless you counted pretty much every piece of music he had ever heard or performed when sober.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: In case you haven't read CatC and it was not otherwise obvious, that "punch" is not actually punch. ;) And if you _have_ read CatC, this trio sang several songs together, so the "popular in Twilight Town" song was not the Backstreet one.

WHOO, I ACTUALLY MADE THE WORD LIMIT WITHOUT HAVING TO TRIM ANYTHING! :D ...In the initial draft. When I went back to edit it, it ended up 19 words over. *headdesk* Oh well!

Quotes were from "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" by B.J. Thomas and "We've Got It Goin' On" by the Backstreet Boys. I picked that Backstreet song half because it was the first one I saw, and half because once I read the lyrics, I couldn't resist referencing a song that contained the words "wet," "granite," and "special effects," considering who was singing it in this drabble.

Complete: 4/100. Next: "Floating in Bliss"


	5. Floating in Bliss

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**5. Floating in Bliss**

Summary: Demyx & Zexion are at a waterpark.

A/N: Random modern AU. You know those waterparks that combine the Wave Pool and the Lazy River?

o.o.o

"Whoooo!" Laughing, Demyx splashed back into his inner tube, having been tossed out of it after the last wave. "Oh, look, I'm back at the wave pool! HI, KIDS!"

A group of little girls farther up near the shallows stared at him as he floated by, surprised at being addressed and waved at by a stranger. "And heeeere's Round 6! OOH! ZEXY!" They had gotten separated almost at the beginning. "Finally!"

Demyx kicked and flailed his arms madly, struggling through the crowd of inner tubes and people to get to his cousin. "Zexy! Wait up! It's me!"

He couldn't help giggling as he approached. Zexion was tiny enough to have fit himself almost completely inside the rubber tube, arms and legs curled in close. "Zexy!" Demyx splashed insistently, but Zexion, though he flinched a little at the cold water, did not otherwise react. "ZEXY!"

Zexion finally sighed and opened his eyes. "Demyx, go away."

"Zexyyyy, you're supposed to be having _fun_," Demyx whined.

"I was actually enjoying myself very much before you barged up."

"No, you weren't! You were just sitting there all curled up, looking absolutely miserable!"

Zexion regarded him for a moment. "Close your eyes," he finally said. "Stop flopping around like a dying fish and just let the water carry you."

"Huh?"

"Then leave me alone," Zexion grumbled, shutting his eyes again.

Demyx stared at his cousin for a minute. Then, curiosity piqued, he flailed and flopped like a dying whale, struggling to turn over and hike his legs up over the edge of the tube. Finally he lay back, went still, and closed his eyes.

The visual overstimulation of movement and colors and reflections disappeared. Behind everyone's laughter and chatter and playful shrieks, he could hear the breeze playing through tree branches overhead, and the hollow rush and gurgle of the water as it flowed past. Demyx squeezed his eyes even more tightly closed as another wave approached, and, oh, that moment when it felt like flying...

He finally opened his eyes again. Zexion was still nearby, watching him. Demyx smiled. "It's...it's like - like floating in _bliss_!"

Zexion gave a small smile in return. "See?"

For a moment, they held each other's eyes in a sort of harmony of soul. Then Demyx laughed, flopped back onto his stomach, and swept an armful of water at his cousin. "But splashing's fun, too, heh heh."

"Argh, _Demyx_!"

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Inspired by trips to the waterpark with our cousins. ^^

Complete: 5/100. Next: "Tears of the Light"


	6. Tears of the Light

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**6. Tears of the Light**

Summary: There is an old prophecy about the treasure in the cave. Demyx knows it. Zexion should have listened.

A/N: Weird AU inspired by all those movies about superstitious natives leading gun-toting thugs and a bespectacled scholar through the jungle to find some ancient archaeological treasure. *sweatdrop*

o.o.o

The cut on his back hurt and they were still pointing those thundersticks at him, but Demyx no longer cared. They were getting closer and closer to Her domain.

It would all be worth it. This awful moon-turn, those savage bullying strangers, all the hard work they'd made Demyx do and the things he'd learned and witnessed because of them... This once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Her would be worth it.

Their leader, the smallest one among them and yet the only one who could actually talk (sort of), had intervened before most of the bad things could get too far. That was why Demyx had grown rather fond of this one he called Zexion, which meant "smartypants," since the little stranger's real name was too hard to pronounce. Demyx had seen Zexion step in when the other, meaner strangers had tried to gang up on Naminé, when they'd been tormenting Vexen, when Axel had picked a fight with them and nearly gotten himself and Saïx killed.

Zexion might boss everyone around like he owned the place and rely on those stupid thundersticks for intimidation and act like he had never learned how to smile, but...he wasn't all bad. He'd somehow healed their strongest tribe member when they all thought Lexaeus was gonna die. Larxene had nearly sliced him open after he'd (accidentally, Demyx hoped) walked in on her purification ceremony, but he hadn't done a thing to retaliate, even though they all knew very well that he could have ordered her killed. He still had Xion's flower sitting in his fancy tent, its color preserved even though the petals had long dried.

Demyx even knew that all those mysterious leaf collections of his were not entirely filled with scribbles...there were a lot of pictures, too. Beautiful ones in amazingly fine lines, of birds and plants and animals and landscapes, scenes from the village, daily life, tribe members. Demyx had even seen his own image in there, as if Zexion had somehow captured it off a sheet of polished copper, though it was far clearer than any copper Demyx had ever gazed into.

Yes. He did like Zexion, pretty much. Zexion was the most human of all those dark strangers. And now Demyx was taking him to see Her, and the cut on his back and the strange weapons didn't matter; this was the happiest day of his life. "In there," he said, pointing. They had reached the cave mouth.

Everyone broke into a babble of their gibberish. It was kind of funny seeing them scurry around like ants, until someone seized Demyx by the shoulder, those stupid spikes on the glove digging into his flesh. "Ow! I'm going, I'm going, you don't have to be mean," Demyx protested, but the bully-stranger just kept shoving him along. Demyx looked hopefully at the leader as they passed, but Zexion was too busy trying to ignite one of their little magic suns. "You don't really need that," Demyx said. As usual, they ignored him.

The cave was dim, but the glow from the little stream that ran down its center was enough to keep a man from getting lost or losing his footing, as long as he was careful. Of _course_ none of these oafs were careful. They bustled around, making enough noise for the echoes to deafen them, tromping heedlessly through the illuminated stream. "She won't like that," Demyx warned.

Ignored again. Though Zexion at least did _finally_ notice that this was no ordinary stream. He knelt beside it, exclaiming excitedly in his barbarian gibberish as he got out more of those endless clear containers and leaf-packets of his. No one else seemed interested, though, and Demyx soon lost sight of him as he was dragged along. "You're a jerk," he conversationally told the thug beside him, but of course there was no response.

How stupid did these sub-humans have to _be_, to get this big without ever having learned to talk? Maybe they grew in reverse. Maybe they started out big and got smaller, which was why Zexion was the smartest one of them. That would explain a lot, actually.

"Let's veer left a little bit, please," Demyx said, pulling against the punishing grip on his shoulder. He sang a little song of introduction and apology as they splashed into the stream. _"My name is Demyx, 'Melodious Nocturne,' and I'm so happy to get to see you at last. Pardon my intrusion, I only want to take what you freely offer."_ The jerk holding him made a sharp, meaningless sound and hit him.

_'Owww...you didn't have to do that,'_ Demyx thought reproachfully. At least his bare feet were stepping through water now. He loved the touch of even normal water, but Hers set his skin tingling and seemed to send joy and healing up through his entire body, soothing his torn back and his bruised shoulder and his wounded heart. "If you'd let me be your friend," he told the thug warmly, "we'd both be a lot happier." It didn't even bother him when the creature only growled in response. Yes, today was certainly a wonderful day.

Ah! So Zexion could smile after all. His whole face was practically lit with excitement as he hurried into the central chamber, the first one to enter Her presence. Apparently, he was so happy that he'd even forgotten to be polite.

"Sing, Zexion," Demyx called out. "Introduce yourself." Sometimes Zexion could be very attentive and focused, but this was apparently one of those times when he behaved as childishly as his fellow strangers. He completely ignored Demyx, fawning over Her and even touching Her without a trace of hesitation. "Zexion, don't, She might get mad," Demyx pleaded.

She didn't look mad, though. She looked like she was dying of grief, her stone figure frozen there at the head of the stream, illuminated water flowing from her eyes like tears of light. "I hope this really is the day of the prophecy," Demyx whispered. Much as Her presence had caused his land to flourish over the past hundred years, he couldn't stand seeing how sad she had really been all this time. There hadn't been anything in the prophecy about how much she must have missed her Home. "I hope it really is."

The thug finally tossed him aside and ran toward Her like everyone else was doing. Demyx climbed painfully back to his feet, trying to wipe the blood away from his leg where he had scraped it against the rocky ground. Then he froze, staring in astonishment.

They had _thrown Zexion_. They had actually laid hands on their little boss and flung him aside as if he was worthless, the way they usually treated Demyx's own people. "Zexion!" Demyx rushed to him, but by the time he got there, Zexion was up again and shouting blah blah blah stuff at the others. _They were ignoring him._

"I'm really confused," Demyx murmured. Zexion was the boss. Everyone listened to Zexion. Now everything was all switched around. These strangers were very, very strange indeed.

"Blah blah BLAH!" Zexion screamed. He was trying to stop them from tying ropes around Her, from crushing Her stone base, from uprooting Her. They threw him to the ground again - and this time, a weapon was pointed at him.

"No!" Demyx plowed straight into the one with the stick, and thunder went crashing off into a corner of the cave, causing a cascade of rock to come crumbling down. That wasn't how it had started, though. Demyx could feel the ground under his feet, and realized that it had been shaking for a while now. She knew what was coming. She had heard their approach, and she was more than ready.

Demyx threw himself to his knees, seizing Zexion and practically groveling. _"Since you have been blessed with power, please also have mercy,"_ he sang in as soothing a voice as he could manage. These idiots couldn't understand words, but hopefully the tone would be enough. _"Don't be scared, don't be worried,"_ he continued, cautiously beginning to creep backwards. _"I'm just taking this one here, we'll leave you all alone to do whatever you want..."_

There was a tense moment between the three of them as the others continued to yell and strike at Her in the background. Demyx was pretty sure they only had as much time to escape as it would take for Her to be completely released. She could probably get loose by Herself now, yet they still kept trying to tear Her free from Her base - perhaps they meant to sacrifice themselves in order to make it easier for Her. Demyx would not have expected such a noble act from these brutes, but who knew what strange thoughts went through their heads.

_"You don't want to hurt us, do you?"_ Demyx went on, crawling farther and farther away. It was hard because Zexion, though quiet, was resisting him. _"There's no need to hurt us, you should really just let us go..."_

The barbarian finally gave a harsh laugh and fired again. Both Demyx and Zexion yelped and flinched as thunder bit the ground near their knees, but the worst that happened was a rock chip flying up to cut a line of blood across Zexion's wrist. A small price to pay, since the savage with the thunderstick had lost interest and turned away, now yelling with the rest as he went to rejoin his crazy friends. "Get up," Demyx said quickly, hauling Zexion to his feet. "We can run now."

"Blah blah no run," Zexion raged, finally breaking back into his odd chopped-up version of human speech. "Stay, *something* stop *something, something*-"

"I have no idea what you're saying, you silly thing," Demyx said in exasperation. The rumbling had gotten so intense that even the barbarians were _finally_ starting to notice it, their senseless yelling growing more chaotic. "Come on, we're running."

Zexion fought hard, but he was little and weak and defenseless and wasn't boss anymore, so Demyx managed to haul him up over his unbruised shoulder.

"Blah blah DOWN, right away, *something* monster!"

It was interesting being the one to ignore someone else, for once. "Goodbye, Princess," Demyx called. "Thank you. Be free." Then he turned and pelted for the exit as fast as he could.

"_Blah_!"

"I can't talk now, sorry, I'm busy trying not to die," Demyx said breathlessly. He was grateful for the glowing stream of her tears, guiding his feet with no need for a torch or a strange sun.

He could see light in the distance. Hope exploded in Demyx's thoughts even as the rock was cascading down around them. _'Almost there almost there almost there...'_

Freedom. Amid the roar of collapsing rock, Demyx thought he could hear Her song of joy as She was released at long last. Yet he did not look back until he had broken out of the trees and reached the top of a hill. Then he set down his burden and turned to look.

The cave was gone now, a huge pile of rubble sitting under a thick dust cloud. Glancing to the side, Demyx found Zexion staring in open-mouthed shock. "Isn't it wonderful? The prophecy's finally been fulfilled! You and me were _there to see it_!"

Zexion made a little whimpering noise.

A thought occurred to Demyx. "Oh. Umm...sorry about your friends. They were...kind of mean, though. And they'd had time to run if they'd wanted to. I guess they were trying to do something good to make up for everything else."

Zexion didn't move. He looked like the insides of his head had disappeared and left his body behind like a frozen shell.

"Umm...oh! I know what'll cheer you up!" Demyx patted Zexion's head and then hurried off into the jungle. He found what he was looking for quickly and came back with an armful of yellow things shaped like stars. Zexion was exactly as he had left him. "Look, Zexion! Paopu fruit, just for you! Here, I'll peel them, since I know how picky you are."

Zexion didn't react until the fruit touched his lips. He raised a hand to grasp the sweet golden flesh for himself, chewing slowly. Then he bowed over until his head almost touched the ground and began to weep.

Demyx patted his back. "It's okay, Zexion, it's okay...I know you're sad, but today was actually a good day, it really was." When that didn't help, he began to sing a song of grief on Zexion's behalf - those brutes barely warranted it, but they were gone now, and Demyx could afford to be gracious. _"They were strong and powerful. They subdued the earth, but then the earth subdued them. They are gone-"_

He was a little exasperated when Zexion interrupted him. What kind of creature grieved for its lost companions and then was disrespectful to their memory? "You! Kill you!"

"Huh? Why do you want to kill me?"

"_Kairi_," he growled, which Demyx had recently figured out was how Zexion seemed to refer to Her. "_Kairi_, gone."

"Yeah," Demyx said happily. "She went Home."

"Home-" Zexion suddenly froze again.

"Don't break," Demyx said worriedly. "I can't get anymore paopu, the rest are all too high for me to climb."

"Home," Zexion whispered. "I no...home can go...trapped..."

Demyx cocked his head curiously. "You mean you can't go back to wherever you guys came from?"

Zexion got to his feet and began moving away, his gait unsteady.

"The village is this way." Demyx took his arm and gently steered him around to the right.

Zexion gave him an appraising look, his expression starting to return to its normal haughtiness. He made condescending-sounding gibberish noises, then briskly marched off in the direction he had been pointed in.

Demyx shrugged. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

It was a very long trek back, they were both tired, and they had lost all the pack animals. Demyx ended up carrying him part of the way, though Zexion scrambled to get down once they reached the common footpaths.

Roxas and Xion came into sight, both armed with machetes for the first time since the strangers' arrival. Xion gave a little gasp, but then relaxed when she saw they were alone. "Demyx! You're okay!" Her face lit up and she ran to throw her arms around him.

"Hello, sweetie," he greeted, hugging back.

"Xaldin told us he saw the cave collapse," Roxas said. "We thought you all might be dead."

"Everyone else is," Demyx replied. "I grabbed Zexion and ran. We barely made it out."

Roxas nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Naminé won't have to hide or be scared anymore. I'll go tell the others." He turned and vanished back down the path.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Xion exclaimed in dismay.

"Aw, nothing much. You know how they are."

Her eyes were so sad as she looked at him that he couldn't stand it, so he smiled again. "I don't mind. I got to see Her."

"Was She pretty?"

"...She was really sad. That stream is made out of Her tears, you know." Xion looked so stricken that he hastened to add, "But it's all right now. Today really was the day of the prophecy."

"Prophecy," Zexion interrupted sharply. "Tell."

Demyx looked at him in surprise. "But I told you already. Like, three times. When the Melodious Nocturne leads the cloaked schemer down the path of liquid light, the Way to the Dawn is unlocked and the Princess can return to the sky."

Zexion stared at him blankly.

"_Kairi_ free," Demyx simplified in exasperation.

Zexion's eyes widened. Then he started making a lot of what Roxas had begun to call the strangers' "Mad Sounds."

"You'd better go," Demyx told Xion.

She gave him a small smile. "It's gonna be a mess when you get home."

"I know."

"They'll wish you had left Zexion in the cave."

"I know that, too." Demyx took a deep breath. "Don't worry. I have a plan."

"Don't do anything silly."

"Oh, you know me."

She laughed, then headed off in the direction Roxas had gone.

"Go in village," Zexion demanded.

"So impatient! We'll get there soon enough."

Demyx could sense the others falling into place as they continued on, shadowed figures stalking them through the trees, but Zexion was completely startled when the warriors burst out upon them at the edge of the village. "Aaahhhh!"

"Aaahhhh!" Demyx yelped in response, wincing as Zexion gripped his arm. His bruised shoulder throbbed. "Do you really have to scream like that? You nearly made my heart stop."

"Is it true?" Axel demanded. "Roxas said you two came back alone."

"Jungle's clean," Xigbar announced. "The only one within a hawk's call is Little Boss here."

"Stay back," Zexion commanded, still clinging tightly to Demyx.

Xaldin gave a very unpleasant smile as he hefted one of his spears. "So the little one's alone now, and weaponless. Move, Nocturne."

Demyx spread his arms, though Zexion was small enough to be shielded behind his body without that. But, you know. Symbolic gesture and all. "No."

"Get out of the _way_, Demyx," Larxene hissed.

"I won't let you hurt him," Demyx announced. "His evil drones are gone, and he's not boss anymore. It's fine."

"Really, Demyx? After everything they've done?" Saïx said witheringly.

"What they almost did to Naminé," Lexaeus murmured. "That alone is enough."

"Forget Naminé," Xaldin said impatiently. "They let Her escape."

"Well, she was fated to escape eventually," Luxord mused. "It was foretold, after all."

Saïx sighed. "Trust the savages to let it happen sooner rather than later."

Marluxia hefted his blade. "Who knows what will happen to the land now. We're taking our payment in blood, and his is all that's left. Stand aside."

Demyx took another deep breath. He really was going to have to go through with this. "Well, you're just gonna have to take it in barbarian magic and medicine and stuff instead. Because I, Demyx, Melodious Nocturne, take...um..." Still couldn't pronounce that stupid name, and he couldn't use 'Smartypants' for something like this. "I take Cloaked Schemer as my _Ienzo_," he finished. "So there." He gave them a defiant look. There was a long pause.

Then Xigbar burst into laughter. "Demyx, you're a moron."

"But I'm a moron _with an Ienzo_. The one who _saved_ Naminé, you know, and who stopped them from blasting Saïx's head off and throwing Axel over a cliff. _And_ he saved Lexaeus _and_ he's the only one who did things besides bully people, and he was nice to Xion and he's at least human enough to talk a little bit and I think he might be a baby who grows backwards anyway, but it doesn't matter because he's my _Ienzo_ now and you can't hurt him."

Larxene sighed loudly. "Ugh. Whatever."

"I call dibs on the fancy machete," Xigbar announced.

"I get a magic sun," Roxas said immediately.

There was a sudden rush for the strangers' tents.

Alone again, Zexion tugged insistently on Demyx's arm until he had turned to face him. "_Ienzo_, what?" Zexion demanded.

"Um...well, it's...uh...it's like- Hm." Demyx had no idea how to explain it in a way his new charge would understand.

Then Zexion realized what was happening to his fancy cloth house. He shouted some Mad Sounds and ran.

"Zexion! No! Don't go over there!" Demyx pelted after him.

They were taking the place apart. Xigbar, having claimed the beautiful silvery blade, now simply sat off to the side and laughed as he watched the others. Xaldin, Saïx, Marluxia, and Larxene were fighting over the few remaining weapons. Larxene emerged triumphantly with a small thunderstick and fired it into the sky, then half-playfully pointed it at the others. Marluxia turned away dismissively and Xaldin glared, though Xigbar and Axel made appreciative "Ooohhhh!" noises. Then Axel went back to handing sun after sun to Roxas.

Xion was over in a corner, her eyes sparkling almost as much as the colorful bits of glass and polished metal she was pouring through her hands. Luxord held the ticking face box, studying it with interest. Saïx unrolled the huge leaves with a thoughtful frown, Lexaeus was carefully gathering the magic medicines together, and Vexen looked absolutely delighted amongst the powders and liquids and outlandish tools.

"Stop! No!"

Demyx felt a little sorry for Zexion, shouting gibberish and Mad Sounds at everyone with the occasional 'No' or 'Stop' thrown in.

"Zexion." Ignored. Demyx quickly pulled Zexion out of the way before Xaldin could get annoyed enough to hit him. "Come on. We have to go."

More furious gibberish. Demyx finally wrapped both arms around Zexion and bodily hauled him off. "Zexion," he said again when they were far enough away. "Listen." Zexion's furious visible eye met his, demanding explanations. Demyx tried to speak slowly and use words he would understand. "You, alone now. Weak. Can't stop us. Not boss anymore." He pointed at the largest tent. "Not yours anymore. You have nothing. Ours now."

Zexion stared at him.

Demyx sighed. "I know it's not fun, but we haven't been having fun this moon-turn, either. Whatever you give, that's what you're gonna eventually get back, you know."

That inside-of-head-has-departed expression was coming back. Zexion made a long string of soft noises, and for the first time, Demyx wondered if maybe it wasn't meaningless after all. Maybe it was some sort of...of language, a secret one, one that only Zexion spoke, now that all his companions were dead.

_'It's like we're from two completely different worlds. So different that maybe...maybe what's strange to us is normal to them, and what's strange to them is normal to us. And he was...trying to touch my world as best he could. Now he's alone and he has no world to belong to, and all he has left is me, because I put my claim on him.'_ Demyx smiled. "I'm not really supposed to get anything, because obviously I have you now, but I don't think anyone will care if I take the things I have in mind. They're just going to burn what's left over, anyway." He stood up. "Wait here."

The smaller tents that had belonged to the drones were already being torn down, looking decidedly unimpressive all piled in battered heaps like that.

"What are you doing?" Larxene asked sharply when she saw Demyx picking his way back to Zexion's old house.

"I want to save the leaf-packages before you guys set everything on fire. Why, did _you_ want them?"

Larxene rolled her eyes and turned away.

Demyx did not know which bundles of leaves had the pictures in them, so he decided to just take them all. He tossed everything out of one of the big boxes and filled it with piles of scribbled-on leaves, then found that the whole thing was too heavy for him to carry by himself. "Hey, Lexaeus, can you help me with this?"

Zexion was a picture of defeat by the time he got back, slumped in the moonlight with his knees pulled up, face resting against his arms. Demyx decided that he was a lot more likeable when he wasn't marching around being bossy. "Hey, Zexion. I brought those leaves you're always staring at and scribbling on. It's okay, no one else wanted them."

Zexion slowly raised his head.

"See?" Demyx took out a leaf-bundle and handed it to him.

Zexion slowly grasped it, still with that empty-head look. He dragged himself closer and peered into the box. Then he whispered something, and Demyx thought he had heard him make one of those sounds a lot before. 'Book.' Or maybe it was 'books,' Demyx wasn't sure.

"You mean your leaf-things, right? Yeah. Books. That's all I can let you have, sorry."

Zexion, cradling two or three of the book/s against his chest like they were babies, raised his head. Firelight from the burning tents glimmered on the unshed tears in his eyes as he said something Demyx had never thought to hear from his kind. "Thank you."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: And right away, while reading over this again after uploading it, I'm discovering** a ton of places where I forgot to capitalize Kairi's pronouns. *sigh* I'll fix it later.**

This ended up similar to my "Gleam" theme for _Fire & Moonlight_. And also might have dragged on for too long. Sorry. When I'm writing individual scenes, I just start from what feels like the beginning (though a lot of my beginnings are _in medias res_) and keep going 'til I reach what feels like the end. And in case you couldn't tell from my other fics, I love the Organization in its entirety, I hate leaving out characters when they obviously have stuff to contribute.

I managed to work in _two_ references to the prompt. :p The first was intentional, the second was just a last-minute, "Hey! If I word this a certain way, I can slip in a bonus reference!"

**In case it wasn't clear enough, Zexion and the thugs speak this universe's equivalent of English, and the Org tribe speaks their native language. Since this story is from Demyx's perspective, the tribal language sounds natural, and the "English" sounds foreign. Also, the "huge leaves" that Saïx was looking at were maps.**

No, the Org's not wandering around completely naked (but I'd...still be embarrassed to see any fanart of this fic *wince*). There are a few logistical things in here that I'm not satisfied with, but whatever; it's not worth angsting over. I assume that the tribe consisted of more than just the Organization and Naminé, but I didn't feel like making up OCs, so none of the others even got mentioned.

I'm pretty sure that Xem got killed, not that any of the characters really miss him. *wince* I'm guessing Xal, Sai, Marly, and Larxene will be battling it out for supremacy now that they're free to choose a new leader, but I don't care who wins. And I'm putting a lot more thought into this than is necessary, seeing as how I have no plans to write anything else in this universe, except for the short challenge version.

Complete: 6/100. Next: "Another Side"


	7. Another Side

_**Sweet Distortion**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl**

**7. Another Side**

Summary: Timepieces are nice things to have.

A/N: High school AU.

o.o.o

_'I need to get a watch,'_ Demyx thought for the billionth time. Because one of Mr. Zexion's many pet peeves was students not paying attention in class. The teacher had gotten so sick of people rummaging around to pack up before the bell rang that he'd taken down all the classroom clocks last week.

_'How much longer?'_ Demyx thought desperately. _'He's been droning on for ages and ages and ages, the bell has to ring soon...'_

"...so don't ever let me catch you using the word 'Romantic' in my class for falling-in-love drivel. It is a specific literary term and deserves to be respected as such," Mr. Zexion finished. He then turned back to the blackboard, which was stuffed from frame to frame with all the notes they were supposed to be copying, and flipped it around. "Now, moving on to-"

"There's ANOTHER SIDE?" Demyx shrieked in horror. The rest of the class burst into laughter, as well as the enthusiastic whining that they now felt free to express.

Mr. Zexion's eyes flashed. "Everyone be _quiet_. Of course there's another side, we have plenty of class time left to start covering the most influential Romantic authors as well. I _could_ also utilize the projector - during detention, for example, - since so much more information can be conveyed via a photocopy than just-"

"No! Please!" Demyx squeaked, starting to scribble furiously. "Look, I'm taking notes, I'm taking notes!"

Definitely, definitely needed to get a watch.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: 247 words, PWNED. :D

Look up Romanticism if you're interested in what it actually means in this context.

Complete: 7/100. Next: "The Secret Whispers"


	8. The Secret Whispers

_Undistorted_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl

8. The Secret Whispers [Postable Edition] **(Rough draft)**

**A/N: I changed the series title because it was bugging me, both on religious and non-religious levels. *sweatdrop*** I still need to go back and fix that in previous installments. I'm still also not completely satisfied with the new title, but at least it's better than before.

_For Zexion/Demyx Day, 9 June 2012_

Summary: "...Oh. So that's what it was about. I feel quite unintelligent now."

o.o.o

This was getting out of hand. Zexion did not consider himself to be paranoid, but the sixth time he walked into a room to find everyone in it abruptly ceasing their whispers upon his entrance, he could no longer deny that _something_, at least, was going on behind his back.

He opened his mouth, then shut it again without speaking. A direct confrontation would do no good, they would just deny it.

"Mornin', Zexy!" Demyx said brightly. "Sleep well?"

"I can't see how that's any business of yours," Zexion said shortly. He stalked past the rest of the group - Xigbar, Lexaeus, Axel, Luxord, Roxas, and Xion - without a word or glance, heading straight for Saïx. "My mission for today?" he asked.

"Agrabah," Saïx replied, though he was gazing in disapproval at the whispering group. "Recon. The details are inside."

"Thank you." Mission brief perusal; panel arrangement; dark corridor; work; lunch; more work; completion; corridor; home; definitely time for dinner. _'RTC time was later than usual, I am quite hungry. I hope that Marluxia didn't finish off the last of the tomato sauce, since I'm rather in the mood for-'_

The kitchen, which was noisy and quite crowded and smelled delicious, got even noisier and more chaotic upon his entrance.

"Ah!"

"Hey-"

"It's Zexion."

"Quick, cover that-"

"The box, Xi, the _box_!"

"What?"

"Noooooo!" Demyx came hurtling out of it all, shoving Zexion back out into the corridor and then slamming the kitchen door shut. Demyx then proceeded to lean against it with arms spread almost protectively, offering a sheepish grin. "'Sup, Zex."

Zexion frowned. "What on earth is going on in there?"

"Uh...cooking! Yeah, because that's what you do in kitchens, right?"

"It's what _I_ need to do, in any case. Move aside, please."

"Um- Oh! Zexy, I need your help!"

"I don't-"

"See, there's this math problem I was working on, and _I don't know how to do it_!"

"That is no surprise," Zexion said flatly. "Ask for someone else's help, I just got back from Agrabah and I-"

"But you're so _smart_, I'm sure you can solve it in _no_ time," Demyx insisted, grabbing his arm near the shoulder and propelling him firmly down the hall, away from the kitchen.

"Demyx-"

Zexion was not entirely sure how, but he ended up spending the next hour or so in the ninth portal (with no math problems in sight), helping Demyx clean out fish tanks and (since there were no other options) nibbling at junk food as Demyx loudly sang along to his music playlist.

_"...and I will always ever love only yooooooouuuuuu!"_ the Nocturne finished extravagantly.

"Demyx, _please_ turn it off now, or at least change it to some classical music that makes mathematical sense and doesn't induce headaches..."

By the time he was allowed into the kitchen, too hungry by now to cook a proper meal, there was not a trace of any of the other Nobodies or their unknown culinary project. Well, except for the lingering scent of cake, but that didn't really do anything to solve the mystery of why they were being so mysterious. Zexion ended up microwaving some ramen and putting the incident out of mind.

The next morning, Zexion woke up as usual and got ready for work, noticing that the castle seemed to be unusually deserted. It was not uncommon for Lord Xemnas to make himself scarce most of the time, but there was _no one_ in the bathroom, kitchen, or dining room. A little warily, Zexion entered the Grey Area and noted with satisfaction that Saïx, at least, was at his post.

Sort of. He was actually taping a Vacation Day notice to a window.

"There's no work today?" Zexion observed.

Saïx turned around and gave him a surprisingly fed-up look. Zexion was not accustomed to seeing such expression on Number VII's usually blank face. "Thanks to you, that is correct."

Zexion frowned. "What do _I_ have to do with the schedule?"

"A sevenfold bribe on your account, and even then, it was only allowed because I need to catch up on paperwork anyway." Then Saïx shook his head and added in a mutter, "As if that idiot Axel will actually let me get anything done..."

"I'm afraid that I have no idea what you're talking about," Zexion said honestly.

"Of course you don't. It's a 'secret.' Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see how long I can avoid participation." The Luna Diviner stalked out of the room.

"...Odd. But all right." Zexion turned around and made a beeline for the library.

He never made it there. Demyx came flying out of a dark corridor, screeching "Heeeelp! There's a fire in Luxord's room!"

"So? Go put it out."

Demyx paused, then stared at his own hand. He made a twisting gesture with his fingers to produce a spurt of water. "Ha ha ha! Oh yeah, I forgot I could do that."

As if he was even capable of forgetting such a thing. It was remarkable how far the young man would go in pretending he was utterly incompetent; Zexion had never been able fathom the Nocturne's motivation.

"Let me try that again!" Demyx cheerfully marched back into the corridor, then burst out of it again, yelling, "Heeeelp! Luxord's room is getting flooded!"

"I don't have time for this," Zexion said flatly. Well, more accurately, he didn't have _patience_ for this, since time was actually something there was a lot of during vacation days. Except that 'patience' wasn't very accurate, either, considering he had no heart to get impatient with...theoretically.

"Oh, whatever; come with me, Zex!"

"Demyx, what-"

The Gambler of Fate's room was large and open, which meant it was a fairly good place for most of the Organization to gather at the same time. It was not, however, the easiest place to decorate, but the conspirators had done their best anyway, having draped the entrance with balloons and streamers. The Keybearers had apparently even gotten the words _"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZEXION!"_ to stay suspended in midair, written in letters of Light.

"SURPRISE!" they all yelled with varying levels of glee.

Zexion stared. "It's not my birthday."

Demyx elbowed him in the ribs.

"Wait," Roxas said, his face glowing with epiphany, "does that mean this is an _unbirthday_ party, like in Wonderland?"

"Uhhhh..." Axel looked at Demyx, who shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

"Oops! We have to fix that, then!" Xion pointed at the Light banner, which changed to read _"HAPPY UNBIRTHDAY, ZEXION!"_

"What is the meaning of this?" Zexion asked in exasperation.

Demyx laughed. "Well, we needed an excuse for a party so we could get a day off, and you were the only one who wouldn't plan it with us but also wouldn't kill us if we threw it for you. Happy Unbirthday, Zexy!" He lifted a Power Rangers blowout to his lips and exhaled so that it smacked Zexion in the side of the head.

"Argh! Demyx..." Zexion rubbed at his ear. "You really are unfathomable."

"Yo, Zexy," Xigbar called, "think fast." He hurled a very pointy cardboard hat at Zexion with such force that it might have actually shaved off a few Hit Points if Luxord hadn't caught it with a Stop spell.

"Now, is that any way to treat our guest of honor?" the gambler admonished, reversing time along the hat's trajectory so that it went shooting back to rest atop (or below? Hard to tell, since the man was upside-down) Xigbar's head.

"Nope," Xigbar laughed, "just having fun."

Lexaeus silently stuck a plastic crown on Zexion's head.

"Perfect!" Demyx cheered. "Now, Axel, if you will?"

Axel pointed his fingers like a gun to light the candles atop the cake from afar. There were a great many of them.

"Wait a minute," Zexion said indignantly, "I am _not_-" He finished counting. "-forty-six!"

"Were we not supposed to use all the candles in the box?" Xion wondered.

"We didn't use all of them," Roxas reminded her, "Destiny chewed on those four we dropped, remember?"

Demyx waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, it doesn't matter; the more flammability, the better. Okay, everyone, on three! One, two-!"

"Wait!" Axel yelped, half-laughing, "I gotta get Saïx to help us sing Happy Birthday! That'll be priceless..."

He dark corridored away as Roxas said in confusion, "Shouldn't we sing Happy Unbirthday?"

"_Is_ there such a song?" Xion asked.

As the children continued to reveal their abysmal lack of life experience, Zexion surveyed the rest of the room more carefully, noting the table covered with wrapped presents, the array of snack food, the music setup, and the traditional games. "You really put a lot of work into this, didn't you," he said thoughtfully.

"Yup! Only the best for you, Zexy."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why only the best for me?" Zexion clarified curiously. "We did not know each other before joining the Organization, and have never been particularly close. Why 'only the best' for me, rather than your usual slapdash efforts?"

"Uh...because it was fun?"

"We can't have 'fun,'" Zexion reminded him, "we have no hearts to enjoy anything with."

"Aw, we do too have hearts."

"No, we don't."

"Do so."

"We do not."

"Do so!"

"We _don't_, Demyx."

"Do so infinity, HAH! I win."

Zexion stared for a minute. "Unfathomable," he repeated. Then he smiled. "Yet I wonder if that's not such a bad thing..."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Long story... Soooo, my Demyx/Zexion inspiration's kind of been dried up for a while, I've been focusing a lot more on my Axel/Saïx and Terra/Cinderella challenges. And I also realized recently that I don't even really ship Demyx/Zexion, even platonically, despite attempting it twice now...I prefer Demyx with Xigbar, and Zexion with...well, with Even, at least, since I have such trouble writing Vexen positively. *sweatdrop* Zexion in my headcanon pretty much hates Demyx because he's so annoying. I mean, obviously I'll keep trying for this series, but I just don't feel the Zemyx, guys. :/

ANYWAY, so a long time ago I started writing a story for this theme, but then it started bothering me on a religious level. It lay unfinished for a while, but now here I am interested in Pairing Days with June 9th coming up. I could not think of anything better to do for Zexion/Demyx Day than to update this series again, which is kinda lame but better than nothing. At first, I thought I'd just rewrite the part of the original story that bothered me, but then gave up and realized I'd have to write something entirely different.

This fic was totally unplanned; a surprise party was the first thing that came to mind, and I basically just typed a lot and hoped that whatever appeared on the screen would be coherent. *sweatdrop* I've been vaguely wanting to write a birthday party story for a while now, but I don't know if this counts. For one thing, I'd had a couple of different characters in mind rather than Zexion. o.O

Lol, I did not at all intend for this to take place in the CatC universe (where Roxas has a pet dog named Destiny), but I needed the puppy, so... XD

For the record, Marluxia & Larxene will eventually crash the party, but Vexen's holed up in his lab and Xem is ogling Kingdom Hearts the whole time. Xaldin's probably off relaxing on a beach somewhere.

Complete: 8/100. Next: "The Force in You"

xXxXxXxXxXx

_Undistorted_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl

8. The Secret Whispers [censored version] **(Rough draft)**

Summary: Modern AU. Zexion is eating alone in the school cafeteria. Demyx isn't about to sit back and do nothing about that.

o.o.o

Demyx caught sight of him across the cafeteria: the new boy. The one everyone had been whispering about. He was dressed all in black, with dark hair hanging in front of his face like he had secrets to hide. Demyx thought he also seemed lonely. "Well, I'd better do something about that."

o.o.o

Zexion picked at his food. School lunches, yum. Not exactly tempting his already small appetite. _'I wish I could just homeschool.'_ It wasn't like his parents would actually have to teach him, he was fine learning on his own. Easier for everyone involved. So, so much easier.

He was startled when someone suddenly plopped down in the seat across from him, and was only partially able to stop himself from raising his hand in an automatic defensive gesture.

"Hi! I'm Demyx."

...What?

"You're new here, right?"

"If my reputation precedes me, as I'm almost certain it has," Zexion said in a low voice, "you knew that already."

A confused look crossed Demyx's face. "Huh?"

Zexion lowered his eyes and took another bite of food, waiting for the other boy to go away.

"Well, yeah, I guess I did know it already. Is that a bad thing?"

"Is it?" Zexion murmured testingly.

"You're confusing," Demyx decided, "but that's okay. Hey, do you want a cookie? I baked them myself!"

Zexion paused. In his experience, "Most teenage males do not proudly announce their baking skills."

"Aw, come on, haven't you ever seen High School Musical? Here, take a cookie." Demyx dropped a whole bag of them onto Zexion's tray.

Zexion stared at them.

"So, haven't made any friends yet?" Demyx said sympathetically, taking a huge bite of (alleged) pizza. "Besides me, that is," he added with his mouth full.

"...I'm not the kind of person whom other people are inclined to want to be in the company of."

"Why? Because of that mind-reading thing everyone says you can do?"

Zexion glared a little. "I can't read minds. [. . .]"

[. . .]

Zexion let it vanish. Then he waited.

"Whoooooaaaaa!"

Any minute now...

"COOL!"

_What_?

"What else can you do, man? Hey! What's your name, anyway? You never told me!"

Zexion had no idea what to say. "I...I just-"

"Is it Billy? Joe? Frank? Oswald?"

"It's Zexion," Zexion said in annoyance, "and is that really all you have to say? 'Cool' and 'What's your name?'"

"Am I supposed to say something else?"

"I just _set the cafeteria on fire_," Zexion said in exasperation.

Demyx looked around as if to double-check. "Not for real, though; still looks fine to me..."

Zexion stared. Maybe this was...genuine. This person's utter lack of care about what a freak Zexion was.

"Hey, Zex! I have an idea."

"It's Zex_ion_."

[. . .]

"_Pardon_ me?"

[. . .]

"..." Honestly, it had never even occurred to Zexion to try such a thing. He hesitantly raised his hand.

[. . .]

"Sweeeeet," Demyx crowed. "Zexion, you're not just my friend anymore, now you're my _best_ friend." He settled back in satisfaction to take another bite of lunch.

"You really are a strange person," Zexion murmured.

Demyx grinned knowingly. "Is that a bad thing?"

"...No," Zexion confessed. Then he smiled.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I wrote most of this a long time ago (the cookie thing in _The Other Side of Memory_ was a reference to this fic, not the other way around), but got stuck for a while because some parts of it started bothering me on a religious level. I find myself growing uneasy at the idea of someone, especially a protagonist, supernaturally creating illusions. And also, just, I really don't like this one from a purely literary perspective, either. *wince* I finally just finished it and then wrote a completely different story for this theme in order to post.

Since I'm already doing a challenge series for Demyx & Zexion (that hasn't been updated in forever DX), I couldn't think of anything better to do for June 9th than to post the next couple of installments. *sweatdrop*

I actually do like school lunches, but I go with whatever best suits the story. And for the record, Demyx asked Zexion to summon up a bunch of (clothed, thank you) hot girls for him. -.-;


	9. The Force in You

_Undistorted_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Bond Of Flame08, written by Raberba girl

9. The Force in You **(Rough draft)**

_For Zexion/Demyx Day, 9 June 2012_

Summary: It's up to you to save the world, Demyx!

o.o.o

"Mwahahahaha!" Lord Baldinort cackled as Larxene dangled helplessly over the piranha-infested pool. "And so, evil triumphs over good! Too bad, Scheming Cloak! Looks like your precious planet is _toast_! MWAhahahahahaha!"

Zexion would have shaken his fist at the villain if it had not been shackled to a table along with the rest of his body. "Demyx!" he shouted instead at the mullet-headed teenage boy huddled between two evilly black-coated guards. "Do something!"

"I told you," the boy wailed, "I can't!"

"_Yes, you can_!" Zexion bellowed. "You're the Chosen One! Believe in The Force In You, Demyx! Beliiieeeve!"

Down among the piranhas, "Help! Help me, Demyx!" Larxene cried, struggling in vain to get free of the chains as water splashed across her heaving bosom. Even inches from death, she still looked sexy as heck.

"Larxene!" Demyx cried in distress. "Let her go, you coward! Oh, and Zexion, too."

"Mwahahaha! Me, the coward? _I think not_, boy! It is not I who snivels in spineless paralysis as his friends draw ever closer to their doom!"

He was right. Demyx _was_ the coward here. And he could keep meebling about how he was nothing special and just wanted his normal life (and his sitar) back, and watch Larxene and Zexion get slain before his eyes, or he could, well, do something about it. "Zexion!" he cried, his shoulders squaring. "I'm not gonna be a coward anymore! What do I do?"

"What I've been TELLING you to do all along!" Zexion yelled back.

"Yes! You're right! I believe, Zexion! I beliiieeeve!" Power burst out from Demyx's body, knocking all the bad guys flat and Lord Baldinort over the edge of the railing.

"Aaaaahhhh!" the villain screamed, toppling straight into the piranha pool below.

"Hang on, Larxene! I'll save you!" Demyx ran to the chain and hauled on it until Larxene had been hoisted back to the upper deck. He set her free and she flung herself gladly into his arms.

"Ooooh, Dem-Dem, you were so _brave_," she cooed.

"Awww, you're embarrassing me, honey," he said with a pleased blush, just before succumbing to her electrifying kiss.

"Demyx," Zexion fumed, yanking meaningfully at his shackles. Then, when that elicited no response, "Demyx! A little help here?" Demyx and Larxene were still going strong, showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. "DEMYX!"

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Deliberate OOCness (I'm so sorry, Larxene! DX) and the most clichéd, cheesy, over-the-top writing as I could manage. Possibly an in-universe dream or doujinshi or something, or maybe just a ridiculous AU, I don't even know. *sweatdrop*

I wrote this a long time ago, by the way, before the original version of "The Secret Whispers." ^^;

...After seeing KH3D, I wish I _could_ feed Xehanort to piranhas. DX

Complete: 9/100. Next: "Innocent Times"


	10. Innocent Times

_**Undistorted**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Cherished Tenshi, written by Raberba girl**

**10. Innocent Times (rough draft)**

_For Demyx/Zexion Day, 6 September 2012_

Summary: ...Demyx, don't try to feed the evil Heartless, plz. -.-

A/N: Lol, this is my preferred Somebody name for Demyx, even though it's the most unlikely...I just think it fits his personality. "Oh, you need an X in there? I'll just add it to the end, then. Done!" XD

I had the vague idea at first that this was before Ienzo lost his parents, but after writing it, I'm not sure. :/ Seems to make more sense if they're in middle school - but then that would make it a slight AU. Gah, I dunno. Will fix later. orz

o.o.o

"Art hater!" Demy yelled as a parting shot, then hurried the rest of the way out the door before his mother could march over and smack him or something. "Man, I'm never gonna get awesome if she keeps kicking me out..." Seriously, he wasn't _that_ loud. But practicing on the street somewhere was better than having to put the guitar away and help with dinner, so now here he was, looking for someplace to play where he wouldn't get interrupted.

The shop owners downtown gave him warning looks before he could even sit down, there were some shady-looking guys down in the Fountain Court, and he knew that all the high schoolers making out in the Gardens would be just as appreciative of his music as his mother had been. Demy eventually came to the Outer Gardens, which was relatively deserted. A bit of traffic from people entering or leaving the city, but no one who would yell at him. So he sat down by a fountain, took the guitar back out of its case, tuned it again, and began to play.

Two songs. He didn't even make it through _two songs_ before an annoyed voice cut through the melody. "_Must_ you make your noise pollution here? Surely there's somewhere else more suited to your occupation." The kid who was talking came into sight from around the fountain - an itty bitty guy, even smaller than Demy, his hair hanging in his face like an emo and a scarily thick book tucked under his arm. He was still in his school uniform.

"Dude, have you even been home yet? It's almost 6:00!"

"Well, there is no point in returning to the house when it's still devoid of other inhabitants," the kid grumbled. "And I believe you dodged my request. I would appreciate it very much if you took your activities elsewhere. I'm trying to read."

"Man, talk normal," Demy complained.

"I _am_ using proper grammar, which is more than I can say for you."

"Whatever. And you don't own the fountain, I can play wherever I want."

The kid sighed and sat down, opening the book and hunching over it with his hands over his ears.

Demy went back to practicing, singing this time, with one mischievous eye on his companion until the nerdy kid finally couldn't take it anymore. "How can you tolerate that, much less enjoy it?! Is that really music to you?"

"Then what's _your_ idea of music?" Demy challenged.

The kid took out a fancy phone that usually only high schoolers got to have. He pushed buttons until some kind of classical junk started coming out. "_Please_ tell me you've at least heard this somewhere. It's so famous that even someone as uncultured as you can't have avoided it."

The music _did_ sound familiar, as if it was from a commercial or a cartoon or something. Demy listened thoughtfully, then started plucking out the main melody on his guitar.

It took a few tries, but eventually he got it, at least the beginning of it. The phone was silent now, it was all guitar. Demy looked up and grinned. "How's that?"

"...Not intolerable."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I liked it better than your earlier noise pollution."

"Noise can't even _be_ pollution, idiot."

"Ugh..."

"Hey, give me another one."

After a while, it had actually gotten kind of fun, trying to re-create the classical music with his own instrument and getting better at it the more he tried. So of _course_ they had to get interrupted again.

"What is _that_?!" Ienzo yelled, leaping to his feet.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't _that_ far off."

"No! _That_!"

Demy looked where he was pointing. "Eep!"

There was a creepy shadow struggling out of the ground nearby, twitching like an insect. It had a head and arms and legs, but there was no way it could be a person, with those glowing yellow eyes and _antennae_...

"What is that?!"

"How should I know?!"

"Well, you know everything else, don't you?" Demy said sarcastically.

The shadow lurched closer to them.

"It's kind of cute..."

"What? It's disgusting!"

"Maybe it's hungry." Demy pulled a candy bar out of his pocket, broke off a piece of it, and tossed it to the shadow. The shadow tripped over it a little. "No, silly, you're supposed to eat it." He crouched down, picked up the bit of chocolate, and held it up to the shadow's face-thing.

"Demy, I don't think-"

"AAAHH!"

"Demy!"

"Get it off!" The _thing_ had latched onto him and was, like...sucking at him. Like a freaking vampire or something, except it was his heart that hurt rather than his wrist. "Gghh..." He felt so ugly...like if he threw up, it'd all be _himself_ he threw up and he was disgusting, and he kinda liked it that way, he wanted to ooze around and dirty everything up so everyone else could be just as ugly as him-

The giant book came crashing down on the shadow's head, again and again until it finally stumbled loose. Demy fell, his injury looking black instead of the red he'd expected, pain flaring in his chest. "Ienzo..."

"Get up, fool! Run!"

Ienzo caught his other arm and heaved it up around his shoulders, but they had only taken a few steps when Demy suddenly cried out. "My guitar!"

"Leave it!"

"Are you _crazy_?" That thing was his baby. He pulled free and ran to grab it.

"_Demy_!"

He turned around just in time and instinctively smashed his baby into the shadow thing as it tried to claw at him. "AAAHH!"

"Again?" Ienzo said in exasperation as he started hitting it with his book some more.

"Noooo, my guitar!" Completely ruined. The claws had shattered the hollow wood, leaving a broken mess dangling from the strings. Demy's eyes narrowed. "Yaaaahhhh!" He viciously began bashing the shadow as hard as he could with the guitar's surviving neck.

To his and Ienzo's surprise, the shadow suddenly burst into a brief cloud of vapor and then disappeared. A small munny orb had popped out and went rolling to Ienzo's feet, as a squishy green ball came flying at Demy, hitting his arm and then _vanishing into the skin_. "AAAHH!"

"You have a very piercing distress cry," Ienzo muttered, rubbing his ear and wincing.

"GET IT OUT!"

"What is it?"

"I DUNNO, BUT IT-! ...Feels kind of good, actually." The ominous black tinge in his skin was gone, and he felt more fresh and healthy and energized, especially after that gross feeling the shadow had given him. He couldn't say the same for his guitar, though - he sadly held up the wreckage. "I need a baby that can make music _and_ kick butt."

"I'll look into that for you," Ienzo said dryly, examining his own hobby-turned-weapon. "It's a good thing this volume was so thick, I'm not sure it would have withstood the trauma otherwise..."

Demy looked nervously around the courtyard. "Hey, Ienzo?"

"Yes?"

"We should probably go home now."

"I suppose so..."

That's right, Ienzo's parents didn't get home 'til late. "Ienzo?"

"What is it now?" the other boy asked, a little impatiently this time.

"You wanna come have dinner with us?"

Ienzo stared in surprise. "Er...well...I suppose I...am not adverse to the idea..."

"Man, is that a yes or a no?" Demy said, his turn now to be impatient.

Ienzo smiled a little. "I accept your offer."

"Cool. C'mon, let's hurry before anymore of those shadow monsters show up."

o.o.o.o.o

"You're spacin' out, Zexy."

Zexion blinked, looking up from the book he had not been reading. Demyx lounged at the other end of the couch, still strumming gently as he watched him.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Oh...just, more innocent times, I suppose..." He shook his head. "You were playing that same song right before we encountered our first Heartless."

Demyx laughed. "Oh yeah, that was when we first met. Man, you're _still_ a nerd."

"And you are still irritating." Not unduly so, however. Zexion returned his attention to the book and did not mind much at all as the work of his favorite composer continued to shape the atmosphere.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: ...The KH wiki hath failed me. It _doesn't have_ a proper list of Radiant Garden's areas and their names in BBS, and I didn't have time to double-check with the game itself. DX Sorry if I got some of them wrong, I'll fix it for the final draft...

Complete: 10/100. Next: "A Walk in Andante"


End file.
